is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 actress, singer, and celebrity from Shinjuku, Tokyo

Shinjuku, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population...

. Her real name is Kaoru Hashimoto (橋本 薫 Hashimoto Kaoru). A versatile actress, she has appeared in contemporary and jidaigeki

Jidaigeki

is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...

roles, on television and in film, and as a seiyū

Seiyu

Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...

.

She attended Myōjō Academy in Mitaka

Mitaka, Tokyo

is a city located in Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 November 2010, the city has an estimated population of 176,737. The total area is 16.50 km² and is about 50 – 55 meters above sea level...

, later transferring to and graduating from NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 Gakuen (NHK Academy). At age 7, she made her debut in the NTV

Nippon Television

is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...

 television series Papa to Yobanai de. Her portrayal of a pregnant middle-school student in an episode of the TBS

Tokyo Broadcasting System

, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

 series Kinpachi-sensei

Kinpachi-sensei

is a Japanese television drama.Kinpachi-sensei is the story of a 3rd year junior high school class in Japan; its teacher is Kinpachi Sakamoto , played by Tetsuya Takeda...

brought widespread media exposure.

In the series Ikenaka Genta 80 kilo (NTV, 1980), she not only played the female lead, but sang the song Tori no Uta, which was released and sold 280,000 copies, reaching number 10 on the weekly Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 charts.

Sugita appeared in Kuchibue o Fuku Torajirō, the 32nd film in the series Otoko wa Tsurai yo

Otoko wa Tsurai yo

Otoko wa tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans...

.

She portrayed Okei, the female lead in the 1987 season of the television jidaigeki series Sanbiki ga Kiru! (TV Asahi

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

). In the final episode of the second series, she reprised the character in a guest appearance.

Having been a member of the Sōka Gakkai, she left the organization in 1995, becoming a follower of the Nichiren Shōshū

Nichiren Shōshū

Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...

.

Sugita made headlines again in 1998, when she released a Joyū Gokko, a book of nude photos by Kishin Shinoyama

Kishin Shinoyama

is a Japanese photographer.Shinoyama graduated from Nihon University. He worked with the Light Publicity agency while still a student, and freelanced after graduation....

. The volume included shots taken when she was 17, and new images of her at twice that age.

She remains active in television in 2006, with appearances in Nurse Aoi, Kurosagi, and Fushin no Toki ～ Woman Wars.

Sugita has also recorded the voice of Clara in the stop motion

Stop motion

Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...

 anime film by Sanrio

Sanrio

is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan...

, Kurumiwari Ningyō (1979) (released in the U.S. as Nutcracker Fantasy

Nutcracker Fantasy

Nutcracker Fantasy is an animated film by Sanrio, very loosely based on Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and E.T.A. Hoffman's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was nominated for the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and the 1980 Young Artist Award for Best Motion Picture...

).

External references

• Kaoru Sugita at IMDB